Resource partitioning for network slices in segment routing networks

ABSTRACT

Resource rationing for network slices in segment routing networks may be provided. A network slice may be created in a communication network. A portion of network resource may be dedicated to the network slice. The dedicated portion of network resource may be bound to the network slice using a segment identifier. The segment identifier may be advertised to the communication network. Data packets associated with the network slice may be routed using the dedicated portion of network resource.

PRIORITY CLAIM AND CROSS-REFERENCE

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/693,013 titled “Resource Partitioning for Network Slices inSegment Routing Networks” filed Jul. 2, 2018, the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to sending of packets through adata network, such as, but not limited to, resource portioning fornetwork slices in segment routing networks.

BACKGROUND

Segment-routing technology may greatly simplify network operations andmay be conducive to a Software-Defined Networking paradigm. Segmentrouting may be utilized with both Multi-Protocol Label Switching(SR-MPLS) and Internet Protocol version 6 (SRv6) data-planes. Segmentrouting policies may be used to steer traffic through a specific,user-defined path using one or more segment identifier list for trafficengineering. In a segment routing network, end-to-end performance delaymay be measured and monitored in order to ensure that the provisions ofservice level agreements are met. In the segment routing context, theprovisioning of end-to-end low latency services with rapid performancedegradation detection becomes an essential service requirement,especially when considering that segment routing based network slicingmay serve as a core technology for implementing the fifth generationready networks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this disclosure, illustrate various embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating network slices in a segmentrouting network;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating resource partitioning in asegment routing network;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating network slices with resourceguarantee, resource isolation, and resource partitioning in a segmentrouting network;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method for providing the resource guarantee,resource isolation, and resource partitioning among the network slicesin a segment routing network; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview

Resource rationing for network slices in segment routing networks may beprovided. A network slice may be created in a communication network. Aportion of network resource may be dedicated to the network slice. Thededicated portion of network resource may be bound to the network sliceusing a segment identifier. The segment identifier may be advertised tothe communication network. Data packets associated with the networkslice may be routed using the dedicated portion of network resource.

Both the foregoing overview and the following example embodiments areexamples and explanatory only, and should not be considered to restrictthe disclosure's scope, as described and claimed. Furthermore, featuresand/or variations may be provided in addition to those described. Forexample, embodiments of the disclosure may be directed to variousfeature combinations and sub-combinations described in the exampleembodiments.

Example Embodiments

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawingsand the following description to refer to the same or similar elements.While embodiments of the disclosure may be described, modifications,adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example,substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elementsillustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may bemodified by substituting, reordering, or adding stages to the-disclosedmethods. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limitthe disclosure. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosure is definedby the appended claims.

As more service providers and enterprises operate a single networkinfrastructure to support an ever-increasing number of services, theability to customize transport to customer requirements may become morerelevant. This may include creating network slices, with differentcharacteristics, that may coexist on top of the shared networkinfrastructure. Moreover, network slicing may be one of the requirementsin the Fifth Generation (5G) networks.

Segment Routing (SR), which may be utilized with both Multi-ProtocolLabel Switching (SR-MPLS) and Internet Protocol version 6 (SRv6)data-planes, may greatly simplify network operations. For example, boththe SRv6 and the SR-MPLS may be designed to support network slicing. Forthe network slicing, segment routing may support a type of segmentrouting identifier (SID) referred to as an Interior Gateway Protocol(IGP) Flexible Algorithm SID. Segment routing may further supportSegment Routing Traffic Engineering (SRTE) policies that may be used tocreate a network slice in the network. However, the SRTE policies maynot provide any bandwidth guarantees or resource isolation for thenetwork slices. Similarly, Virtual Private Network (VPN) services over aSR network may share the network fabric without any resource separation,partitioning and guarantees. Therefore, it may be difficult to provideresource guarantee, resource isolation, and resource partitioning amongnetwork slices in a segment routing network.

The processes disclosed herein may extend the segment identifier in thesegment routing to provide resource guarantee, resource isolation andresource partitioning among network slices. The processes may beapplicable to both the SR-MPLS and the SRv6 data planes of the segmentrouting network. For example, in the segment routing network, a networkslice may be created by associating a Flexible Algorithm value with thenetwork slice via provisioning.

FIG. 1 illustrates network slices in a communication network, forexample a segment routing network 100. As shown in FIG. 1, segmentrouting network 100 may comprise a plurality of nodes 102, for example,a first node 104, a second node 106, a third node 108, a fourth node110, a fifth node 112, a sixth node 114, a seventh node 116, a eighthnode 118, a ninth node 120, and a tenth node 122. Segment routingnetwork 100 may include a plurality of network slices. For example,segment routing network 100 may include a first network slice 130 (alsoreferred to as a north slice 130), a second network slice 132 (alsoreferred to a south slice 132), and a third network slice 134 (alsoreferred to as a default slice 134). North slice 130 may include firstnode 104, second node 106, third node 108, fourth node 110, fifth node112, and tenth node 122. In example embodiments, north slice 130 may beinstantiated using a conventional flexible algorithm such as FlexibleAlgorithm 128 for example.

South slice 132 may include first node 104, second node 106, sixth node114, seventh node 116, eighth node 118, ninth node 120, and tenth node122. South slice 132 may be instantiated using a conventional flexiblealgorithm such as Flexible Algorithm 129 for example. Default slice 134may comprise all nodes of segment routing network 100. That is, defaultslice 134 may include first node 104, second node 106, third node 108,fourth node 110, fifth node 112, sixth node 114, seventh node 116,eighth node 118, ninth node 120, and tenth node 122. Default slice 134may be instantiated using a conventional flexible algorithm such asFlexible Algorithm 0 for example. As shown in FIG. 1, first node 104,second node 106, and tenth node 122 are part of each of north slice 130,south slice 132, and default slice 134. Therefore, network resources ofeach of first node 104, second node 106, and tenth node 122 may beshared by each of north slice 130, south slice 132, and default slice134.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example resource partition in segment routingnetwork 100. For example, a first link 202 connects first node 104 andsecond node 106 of segment routing network 100. As shown in FIG. 2, link202, therefore, may be shared by each of north slice 130, south slice132, and default slice 134. In conventional systems, first node 104 maycreate a single queue for the data traffic from all network slices. Forexample, in conventional systems, and as shown in zoom 204, first node104 may create a single queue for each of north slice 130, south slice132, and default slice 134. In addition, in the conventional systems,when first node 104 forwards the data traffic associated with northslice 130, and as shown in zoom 204, the data traffic may get the samequality of service (QoS) over link 202 as the data traffic associatedwith default slice 134 or south slice 132. Furthermore, in theconventional systems, there may not be any isolation between the datatraffic in north slice 130, south slice 132, and default slice 134. Inaddition, in the conventional systems there may not be any bandwidthguarantees provided to the data traffic in the individual slices.

In example embodiments of the disclosure, the processes disclosed hereinmay provide network resource partitioning, resource isolation, andresource guarantee among network slices of segment routing network 100by creating a new type of segment identifier referred to as a ResourceGuaranteed Adjacency Segment Identifier (RGA SID). The resourceguaranteed adjacency segment identifier may bind a network slice tonetwork resources dedicated to the network slice. A customer mayassociate and dedicate a configurable percentage of network resources tothe network slices via the resource guaranteed adjacency segmentidentifier. For example, a customer may associate and dedicate aconfigurable percentage of a link bandwidth to a network slice.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example embodiment where a customer may associateand dedicate a configurable percentage of a link bandwidth in segmentrouting network 100. For example, a first customer may request and payfor 40% of network resources to be dedicated for forwarding data trafficassociated with the first customer. Similarly, a second customer mayrequest and pay for 20% of the network resources to be dedicated forforwarding the data traffic associated with the second customer.Alternatively, a customer may request and pay for 40% of networkresources to be dedicated for a first service and for 20% of the networkresources to be dedicated for a second service associated with the firstcustomer.

Based on the customer's requests, and as illustrated in zoom 302 of FIG.3, 40% of the link bandwidth of link 202 may be dedicated to north slice130, 20% of the link bandwidth may be dedicated to south slice 132, anddefault slice 132 may be configured as the best effort slice. Northslice 130 may be used to forward the data traffic associated with thefirst customer and south slice 132 may be used to forward the datatraffic associated with the second customer. Remaining link bandwidthmay be used by default slice 134 to forward other data traffic.

In addition to dedicating a portion of the network resources, processdisclosed herein may create a dedicated queue for each of north slice130 and south slice 132. The dedicated queue may include a hierarchicalqueue. For example, a first dedicated queue 304 may be created for thedata traffic associated with north slice 130, a second dedicated queue306 may be created for the data traffic associated with south slice 132,and a third dedicated queue 308 may be created for default slice 134.

In example embodiments, for each of the network slices requiring adedicated bandwidth and hierarchical queue, a resource guaranteedadjacency SID may be created. For example, on link 202 between firstnode 104 and second node 106 of SR network 100, a first resourceguaranteed adjacency SID may be created for north slice 130 and a secondresource guaranteed adjacency SID may be created for south slice 132.The first resource guaranteed adjacency SID for north slice 130 may bedefined by the Flexible Algorithm 128 and the second resource guaranteedadjacency SID for south slice 132 may be defined by the FlexibleAlgorithm 129.

The resource guaranteed adjacency SIDs may be advertised with abandwidth value they are configured with. In addition, the resourceguaranteed adjacency SIDs may optionally be also advertise otherMultiple Quality Control (MQC) attributes like shaping capability,policer capability, etc. For example, first resource guaranteedadjacency SID may be advertised with 40% of the link bandwidth and otherMQC attributes into the IGP with Flexible Algorithm 128. Similarly, thesecond resource guaranteed adjacency SID may be advertised with 20% ofthe link bandwidth and other MQC attributes into the IGP with FlexibleAlgorithm 129.

The resource guaranteed adjacency SIDs associated with network slicesthat does not have any guaranteed bandwidth may not be advertised. Forexample, default slice 134 of segment routing network 100 may not have aguaranteed bandwidth. Hence, a third resource guaranteed adjacency SIDassociated with default slice 134 may not be advertised. For thenon-advertised resource guaranteed bandwidth SID, the IGP with FlexibleAlgorithm 0 may be advertised for a prefix SID.

Bandwidth advertised for the resource guaranteed adjacency SIDs mayinclude a total bandwidth, an available bandwidth, per class bandwidth,and other attributes used for traffic engineering with the bandwidthguarantees. Customers may bind each of the resource guaranteed adjacencySIDs to a dedicated queue with a provisioned bandwidth on an interfaceto second node 106 of segment routing network 100. The queue may beprovisioned with a guaranteed bandwidth on the link using MQC. Per slicequeues may be setup as hierarchical queues such that the data trafficwithin a slice may receive treatment based on EXP/Dynamic Host ControlProtocol (EXP/DHCP) bits.

In example embodiments, the first resource guaranteed adjacency SID andthe second resource guaranteed adjacency SID may be advertised with theFlexible Algorithm 128 and the Flexible Algorithm 129, respectively, inthe IGP and Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)-LS. Advertisement may givevisibility into the first and second resource guaranteed adjacency SIDsto the IGP domain and to Path Computation Element (PCE) controller foran inter-domain network. The allocated and available bandwidth to aresource guaranteed adjacency SID, for example, the first and the secondresource guaranteed adjacency SID, may also be visible to the PCEcontroller. The PCE controller may keep track of the available bandwidthon a per slice basis. For an SR policy that requires bandwidthguarantees, the PCE controller or an external controller may computepaths within north slice 130 by forcing the data traffic to the resourceguaranteed adjacency SIDs with the enough available bandwidth.

Routers of segment routing network 100 may keep advertising bandwidthavailable to the resource guaranteed adjacency SIDs on regular basis orwhen there is a significant change in the available bandwidth. The PCEcontroller or an external controller may be able to keep track of thebandwidth resource associated with the resource guaranteed adjacencySIDs. When the IGP programs any forward entry (rewrite) associated witha resource guaranteed adjacency SID, the IGP may also associate therewrite to the queue dedicated to the resource guaranteed adjacency SID.The rewrite association may be done using a mechanism used forinstalling BGP rewrites for the QoS Policy Propagation with BGP (QPPB)feature.

The rewrite association may be different than the per Label SwitchedPath (LSP) queuing. For example, in the processes disclosed herein,there may be one queue per network slice. SR polices requiring QoSguarantees and data traffic to prefix SIDs in a slice may be able toshare the same queue. Hence, using the processes disclosed herein, therewrite association may be highly scalable. The processes, for example,may extend the segment identifiers in segment routing networks, forexample, segment routing network 100, to provide resource guarantee,resource isolation, and resource partitioning among the network slices.The processes disclosed herein may, therefore, equip the segment routingnetworks with an ability to provide resource portioning and resourceisolation like a hard slice with the advantage of statisticalmultiplexing. Moreover, the processes although described using theSR-MPLS terminology, may equally be applicable to the SRv6 networks.

As described above, network slicing may be one of the requirements forthe 5G transport. For example, segment routing may be the de factostandard for the 5G transport and may be equipped with a native buildingblocks for the network slicing. However, these building blocks may notinclude the ability to provide resource partitioning and observeresource separation among the network slices. Processes disclosed hereinmay overcome this deficiency of the native segment routing by extendingthe native segment routing mechanisms to provide the resource guarantee,resource isolation and resource partitioning among network slices.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart setting forth the general stages involved in amethod 400 consistent with an embodiment of the disclosure for providingthe resource guarantee, resource isolation, and resource partitioningamong the network slices in segment routing networks. Method 400 may beimplemented by any of plurality of nodes 102 as described above withrespect to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3. A computing device 500 asdescribed in more detail below with respect to FIG. 5 may comprise aworking environment for any of plurality of nodes 102. Ways to implementthe stages of method 400 will be described in greater detail below.

Elements shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 may be practiced inhardware and/or in software (including firmware, resident software,micro-code, etc.) or in any other circuits or systems. Elements shown inFIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 may be practiced in electrical circuitscomprising discrete electronic elements, packaged or integratedelectronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizing amicroprocessor, or on a single chip containing electronic elements ormicroprocessors. Elements shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 may alsobe practiced using other technologies capable of performing logicaloperations such as, for example, AND, OR, and NOT, including but notlimited to, mechanical, optical, fluidic, and quantum technologies. Asdescribed in greater detail below with respect to FIG. 5, elements shownin FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 may be practiced in a computing device 500

Method 400 may begin at block 405 and proceed to block 410 where anetwork slice in a communication network may be created. For example,north slice 130 and/or south slice 132 may be created in segment routingnetwork 100. The network slice may be created for a customer based on arequest received from the customer. For example, a customer may send arequest and pay for creating and reserving a network slice in segmentrouting network 100. The request, may for example, include one or morerequirements, such as, a network resource requirement and a bandwidthrequirement. The network slice, for example, north slice 130 and/orsouth slice 132 may be created based on the network resource requirementreceived from the customer. In example embodiments, the network slices,that is, north slice 130 and south slice 132 may be created using theFlexible Algorithm 128 and Flexible Algorithm 129 respectively.

After creating the network slice at block 410, method 400 may proceed toblock 420 where a portion of the network resources may be dedicated tothe network slice. For example, the network resources of segment routingnetwork 100 may be partitioned or portioned. The network resources maybe partitioned to create a network resource segment which may meet thenetwork resource requirement and the bandwidth requirement of the firstcustomer. For example, the network resources of segment routing network100 may be portioned to create a first network resource segment whichincludes 40% of the network bandwidth. The first network resourcesegment may also be referred to as a first portion of network resources.In addition, the network resources of segment routing network 100 may beportioned to create a second network resource segment which includes,for example, 20% of the network bandwidth. The second network resourcesegment may also be referred to as a second portion of networkresources.

The partitioned network resource segments may be dedicated to thenetwork slices. For example, the first network resource segment may bededicated to north slice 130 and the second network resource segment maybe dedicated to south slice 132. That is, 40% of the network bandwidthmay be dedicated to north slice 130 and 20% of the network bandwidth maybe dedicated to south slice 130.

Once having dedicated a portion of the network resources to the networkslice at block 420, method 400 may proceed to block 430 where thededicated portion of network resources may be bound to the network slicevia the segment identifiers. For example, the first portion of networkresources, that is, 40% of the network bandwidth may be bound to northslice 130 using the first resource guaranteed adjacency SID. Similarly,the second portion of network resources, that is, 20% of the networkbandwidth may be bound to south slice 132 using the second resourceguaranteed adjacency SID.

After binding the dedicated portion of network resources at block 430,method 400 may proceed to block 440 where the segment identifier may beadvertised in the communication network. For example, the first resourceguaranteed adjacency SID associated with north slice 130 and the secondresource guaranteed adjacency SID associated with south slice 132 may beadvertised in SR network 100. In example embodiment, the advertisementmay include the dedicated portion of network resources associated withthe segment identifier. For example, the advertisement may include that40% of the link bandwidth is associated with the first resourceguaranteed adjacency SID and that 20% of the link bandwidth isassociated with the second resource guaranteed adjacency SID. In exampleembodiments, the first and second resource guaranteed adjacency SIDs maybe advertised using the IGP.

Once having advertised the segment identifier at block 440, method 400may proceed to block 450 where data packets associated with the networkslice may be routed using the dedicated portion of the network resource.For example, the data packets associated with north slice 130 may berouted using 40% of the link bandwidth and the data packets associatedwith south slice 132 may be routed using 20% of the link bandwidth. Inexample embodiment, a dedicated queue may be created for the datapackets on a per network slice basis. For example, at first node 104,first queue 304 may be created for the data packets associated withnorth slice 130. In addition, second queue 306 may be created for thedata packets associated with south slice 132 and third queue queue 308may be created for the data packets associated with default slice 134.The dedicated queue and the dedicated portion of the network resourcesmay be used to route the data packets associated with the network slice.After routing the data packets associated with the network slice, method400 may end at block 455.

FIG. 5 shows computing device 500. As shown in FIG. 5, computing device500 may include a processing unit 510 and a memory unit 515. Memory unit515 may include a software module 520 and a database 525. Whileexecuting on processing unit 510, software module 520 may performprocesses for providing the resource guarantee, resource isolation, andresource partitioning among the network slices in SR networks, any oneor more of the stages from method 400 described above with respect toFIG. 4. Computing device 500, for example, may provide an operatingenvironment for plurality of node 102 or user devices associated withcustomers. Plurality of nodes 102 may operate in other environments andare not limited to computing device 500.

Computing device 500 may be implemented using a personal computer, anetwork computer, a mainframe, a router, or other similarmicrocomputer-based device. Computing device 500 may comprise anycomputer operating environment, such as hand-held devices,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable senderelectronic devices, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.Computing device 500 may also be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices. Theaforementioned systems and devices are examples and computing device 500may comprise other systems or devices.

According to example embodiments, a method may comprises creating anetwork slice in a communication network; dedicating a portion ofnetwork resource to the network slice; binding the dedicated portion ofnetwork resource to the network slice using a segment identifier;advertising the segment identifier to the communication network; androuting data packets associated with the network slice using thededicated portion of network resource. Dedicating the portion of networkresource may comprise partitioning the network resources based on a setof requirements to be satisfied by the network slice. Routing the datapackets associated with the network slice may comprise creating adedicated queue for the data packets associated with the network sliceat a first node of the communication network. Routing may furthercomprise associating a rewrite associated with the segment identifier tothe dedicated queue associated with the network slice.

Binding the dedicated network resource to the network slice using thesegment identifier may comprise binding a packet path to the networkresource dedicated to the network slice. Creating the network slice inthe communication network may comprise creating the network slice in thecommunication network, wherein the communication network is a fifthgeneration (5G) network. Creating the network slice in the communicationnetwork may also comprise creating the network slice in thecommunication network, wherein the communication network is a segmentrouting based network.

Binding the dedicated portion of network resource to the network sliceusing the segment identifier may comprise binding the dedicated portionof network resource to the network slice using the segment identifier,wherein the segment identifier is a node segment identifier. Binding thededicated portion of network resource to the network slice using thesegment identifier may also comprise binding the dedicated portion ofnetwork resource to the network slice using the segment identifier,wherein the segment identifier is an adjacency segment identifier.Binding the dedicated portion of network resource to the network sliceusing the segment identifier may further comprise binding the dedicatedportion of network resource to the network slice using the segmentidentifier, wherein the segment identifier is a service segmentidentifier. Creating the network slice in the communication network maycomprise creating the network slice in response to a service requestfrom a customer.

In example embodiments, an apparatus may comprise a memory storage; anda processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processingunit may be operative to: create a network slice for a customer in acommunication network; partition a portion of network resources based ona set of requirements to be satisfied by the network slice; dedicate theportion of network resources to the network slice; bind the dedicatedportion of the network resource to the network slice using a segmentidentifier; advertise the segment identifier to in the communicationnetwork; and route data packets associated with the network slice usingthe dedicated predetermined portion of the network resource.

In example embodiments, a computer-readable medium that may store a setof instructions when executed may perform a method executed by the setof instructions comprising: creating a plurality of network slices in acommunication network; partitioning network resources of thecommunication network into a plurality of resource segments; bindingeach of the plurality of resource segments to one of the plurality ofnetwork slices using segment identifiers; advertising the segmentidentifiers to the communication network; and routing data packetsassociated with the plurality of network slices using the plurality ofresource segments.

Embodiments of the disclosure, for example, may be implemented as acomputer process (method), a computing system, or as an article ofmanufacture, such as a computer program product or computer readablemedia. The computer program product may be a computer storage mediareadable by a computer system and encoding a computer program ofinstructions for executing a computer process. The computer programproduct may also be a propagated signal on a carrier readable by acomputing system and encoding a computer program of instructions forexecuting a computer process. Accordingly, the present disclosure may beembodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, residentsoftware, micro-code, etc.). In other words, embodiments of the presentdisclosure may take the form of a computer program product on acomputer-usable or computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-usable or computer-readable program code embodied in the mediumfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system. Acomputer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that cancontain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for useby or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice.

The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example butnot limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagationmedium. More specific computer-readable medium examples (anon-exhaustive list), the computer-readable medium may include thefollowing: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portablecomputer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an optical fiber, and a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM). Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable mediumcould even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program isprinted, as the program can be electronically captured, via, forinstance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled,interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary,and then stored in a computer memory.

While certain embodiments of the disclosure have been described, otherembodiments may exist. Furthermore, although embodiments of the presentdisclosure have been described as being associated with data stored inmemory and other storage mediums, data can also be stored on or readfrom other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storagedevices, like hard disks, floppy disks, or a CD-ROM, a carrier wave fromthe Internet, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Further, the disclosedmethods' stages may be modified in any manner, including by reorderingstages and/or inserting or deleting stages, without departing from thedisclosure.

Furthermore, embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced in anelectrical circuit comprising discrete electronic elements, packaged orintegrated electronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizinga microprocessor, or on a single chip containing electronic elements ormicroprocessors. Embodiments of the disclosure may also be practicedusing other technologies capable of performing logical operations suchas, for example, AND, OR, and NOT, including but not limited to,mechanical, optical, fluidic, and quantum technologies. In addition,embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced within a general purposecomputer or in any other circuits or systems.

Embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced via a system-on-a-chip(SOC) where each or many of the components illustrated in FIG. 1 may beintegrated onto a single integrated circuit. Such an SOC device mayinclude one or more processing units, graphics units, communicationsunits, system virtualization units and various application functionalityall of which may be integrated (or “burned”) onto the chip substrate asa single integrated circuit. When operating via an SOC, thefunctionality described herein with respect to embodiments of thedisclosure, may be performed via application-specific logic integratedwith other components of computing device 500 on the single integratedcircuit (chip).

Embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, are described abovewith reference to block diagrams and/or operational illustrations ofmethods, systems, and computer program products according to embodimentsof the disclosure. The functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur outof the order as shown in any flowchart. For example, two blocks shown insuccession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or theblocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality/acts involved.

While the specification includes examples, the disclosure's scope isindicated by the following claims. Furthermore, while the specificationhas been described in language specific to structural features and/ormethodological acts, the claims are not limited to the features or actsdescribed above. Rather, the specific features and acts described aboveare disclosed as example for embodiments of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: creating a network slice ina communication network; dedicating a portion of network resource to thenetwork slice; binding the dedicated portion of network resource to thenetwork slice using a segment identifier; advertising the segmentidentifier to the communication network; and routing data packetsassociated with the network slice using the dedicated portion of networkresource.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein dedicating the portion ofnetwork resource comprises partitioning the network resources based on aset of requirements to be satisfied by the network slice.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein routing the data packets associated with the networkslice comprises creating a dedicated queue for the data packetsassociated with the network slice at a first node of the communicationnetwork.
 4. The method of 3, further comprising associating a rewriteassociated with the segment identifier to the dedicated queue associatedwith the network slice.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein binding thededicated network resource to the network slice using the segmentidentifier comprises binding a packet path to the network resourcededicated to the network slice.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereincreating the network slice in the communication network comprisescreating the network slice in the communication network, wherein thecommunication network is a fifth generation (5G) network.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein creating the network slice in the communicationnetwork comprises creating the network slice in the communicationnetwork, wherein the communication network is a segment routing basednetwork.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein binding the dedicated portionof network resource to the network slice using the segment identifiercomprises binding the dedicated portion of network resource to thenetwork slice using the segment identifier, wherein the segmentidentifier is a node segment identifier.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein binding the dedicated portion of network resource to the networkslice using the segment identifier comprises binding the dedicatedportion of network resource to the network slice using the segmentidentifier, wherein the segment identifier is an adjacency segmentidentifier.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein binding the dedicatedportion of network resource to the network slice using the segmentidentifier comprises binding the dedicated portion of network resourceto the network slice using the segment identifier, wherein the segmentidentifier is a service segment identifier.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein creating the network slice in the communication networkcomprises creating the network slice in response to a service requestfrom a customer.
 12. An apparatus comprising: a memory storage; and aprocessing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processingunit is operative to: create a network slice for a customer in acommunication network; partition a portion of network resources based ona set of requirements to be satisfied by the network slice; dedicate theportion of network resources to the network slice; bind the dedicatedportion of the network resource to the network slice using a segmentidentifier; advertise the segment identifier to in the communicationnetwork; and route data packets associated with the network slice usingthe dedicated predetermined portion of the network resource.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 12, wherein the communication network is a fifthgeneration (5G) network.
 14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein thecommunication network is a segment routing network.
 15. The apparatus ofclaim 12, wherein the apparatus is an edge device of the communicationnetwork.
 16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the segment identifiercomprises at least one of the following: a node segment identifier, aservice segment identifier, and an adjacency segment identifier.
 17. Acomputer-readable medium that stores a set of instructions when executedperform a method executed by the set of instructions comprising:creating a plurality of network slices in a communication network;partitioning network resources of the communication network into aplurality of resource segments; binding each of the plurality ofresource segments to one of the plurality of network slices usingsegment identifiers; advertising the segment identifiers to thecommunication network; and routing data packets associated with theplurality of network slices using the plurality of resource segments.18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein creating theplurality of network slices comprises: creating a first network slicecorresponding to a first customer; creating a second network slicecorresponding to a second customer; and creating a default networkslice.
 19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, further comprising:partitioning the network resources of the communication network into afirst resource segment corresponding to the first network slice, asecond resource segment corresponding to the second network slice,wherein the first resource segment comprises a first portion of thenetwork resources, and wherein the second resource segment comprises asecond portion of the network resources.
 20. The computer-readablemedium of claim 19, wherein the first portion is greater than the secondportion.